SURGIA Newsletter: General Surgery Edition Volume II Issue 1 | Page 39

There was only 1 anesthetist which was split
between two operating theaters and during one
of the surgeries, the theater ran out of stiches so
someone had to run down to the medical ward to
fetch some extras! Once the operation was over,
the patients had to be woken up and had to walk
out of the theatre themselves and just wait outside
on a bench for their relatives to come collect
them or to be taken down to the surgical ward.
Although these practices are different to what we
expect in the western world, it really did highlight
the difference in patient care but also how lucky
we are to have the array of resources and funding
so readily available.

Weekends in Livingstone afforded me the
opportunity to see the local towns and experience
several different safaris of various national parks.
My favorite was by far Chobe National Park in
bordering Botswana, which boasts the largest
population of elephants anywhere in the world.
Overall, the contrast between developed and
developing medical practice has never been so
clear and I am so fortunate to be able to witness
that first hand and be apart of the medical
practices in both settings. My medical elective
was an incredible experience to see and do things
outside of my comfort zone and something I will
remember for the rest of my life.